The Ultimate ๐ฏ Girls Guide ๐ to Eating Real ๐ Food and Staying Healthy ๐ช๐ผ ...

Food can be so confusing these days. Everywhere you look weโre being told something different. We rely on experts to tell us what to eat, but thereโs so much contradicting information, itโs almost impossible to know whatโs right anymore.
And then we canโt help, but feel bad because no matter what we do, we are in the wrong according to some source. Not a fun way to live.
For us as human beings, itโs a primal instincts to eat in order to sustain life. If you go back in time before the American diet became a part of our vocabulary, we as a species, never worried about what nutrients were in our food and most of them were healthier than those we are eating now.
Iโm not a scientist nor am I a formally trained nutritionist. I have, however, done my fair share of research to understand and be more curious about whatโs available to us. I will always believe that natural is best.
Weโve lost our intuition when it comes to food. Weโve stopped listening to our bodies and are only hearing what the outside world is telling us. I think this is backwards. Listening to our body is the one thing we can take responsibility for and create lasting change in the way we feel.
So what does it mean to eat real food?
Are you so overwhelmed you donโt know where to start?
Iโve got you covered. Consider this your holy grail when it comes to how to navigate through the confusion in the grocery store. Iโve put together my top 15 tips for happy and healthy eating.
This is your starting point to stop the madness and simplify the way you eat. If we can take away the confusion thereโs more space to listen to your body and enjoy eating again.
Get rid of the crap. Stop eating stuff that you canโt pronounce. If it has a shelf life thatโs longer than your pet's life, donโt put it in your body. Artificial anything, excessive sweeteners, and anything thatโs been overly processed is not what weโre meant to consume, no matter how many advertisers are trying to market its benefits to you. A lot of foods that are considered โhealthyโ are actually some of the biggest culprits. Be curious, ask questions, and read labels.
These days food is so overcomplicated and all of a sudden it is all about nutritional components, calories and calculations. When did food become about math equations? Eating well doesnโt have to be complicated. Real food is good food. Itโs about adopting new way of thinking, thatโs really an old way of thinking. Itโs about eating food that our bodies naturally know how to process, without chemicals, additives or fillers.
Start looking at the ingredients of what youโre eating. Is the list super long? If you canโt pronounce it, chances are you should be avoiding it.
Sugar is one thing thatโs added first to products in order to essentially get you hooked on it. And watch out for sugar in disguise - there are 56 different terms that are used instead of the word "sugar", so avoid anything with fructose, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, and syrups of any kind.
Low fat, fat free, high fiber, etc. Usually these items will have something added to them in order for them to have the same consistency or flavor. And itโs usually extra sugar, salt or chemicals.
All the fresh, real food is found on the outside aisle of almost every grocery store. Start on the outside and move in for your good pantry staple options and frozen food.
Get to know where your food comes from. If it comes from a small and local farm, chances you can ask how they plant and harvest their produce and also, if youโre a meat eater, how the animals are treated and what theyโre fed. If you donโt have access to a local farm, start asking more questions at your grocery store to learn where things are sourced from.
Trying new things keeps your body guessing and opens up more opportunity to get a full range of vitamins and nutrients. Trying new things and mixing it up is good for the soul as well. Variety is the spice of life!
Try to buy most things that are salt or sugar free. This way you can add your own and know exactly whatโs in your food. Try finding unsweetened or salt free versions of yogurt or soups/stocks.
When youโre making changes to how you eat, pay attention to what your bodyโs telling you. This way you can find things that make you feel your best. Make note of what gives you the most energy and what doesnโt feel so hot. Your body will also tell you when youโre actually hungry and when youโre full. Pay attention to it.
Your gut is the epicenter of your body. It dictates so much more than just your digestive system, it also affect your energy levels, immune system and even brain function. Find foods that are high in probiotics; yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut and all other fermented foods.
The one way you can be sure about the kind of food youโre eating is if you make it yourself. You can be in charge of how your food is prepared and what you put in it. It doesnโt have to be hard if you have real ingredients and some simple techniques that just take a little bit of practice.
I always ask the questions; do I know what Iโm eating? Do I know where it came from? How it was made?
Our culture today is addicted to the busyness. How many times a day do you hear someone say, "Iโm so busy"? In order to โget it all doneโ weโre now rushing through meals, eating on the go and on scrolling through our phone at mealtimes. We donโt give ourselves time to sit and enjoy a meal without distractions. Weโve lost the space to step back and listen to our bodyโs intuition. Put down the phone. Create space at meal time to acknowledge what youโre eating and how youโre nourishing your body.
We do this so often in our lives, we restrict ourselves and then feel horrible, if we set ourselves up to fail. Healthy habits include all of what Iโve talked about above, knowing what weโre putting in our body and being mindful. What you eat is one of the most important components to your energy and how you feel everyday. Make a choice to take responsibility and to be curious. Take the time to listen to your body and figure out what works for you. Healthy habits should be about what makes you feel good. Do what brings you joy. How are you bringing fun and lightness into your life everyday?